Mechanism for handling blanks



Nov. 24, 1925'- C. FASSINGER MECHANISM FOR HANDLING BLANKS 3 Sheets5heet 1 FIG.1

INVENTOR C. FASSINGER MECHANISM EOR HANDLING BLANKS Origina Filed Sept. 7, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOH PIC-3.4

Patented Nov. 24, 1925.

istaai uUNlTvE. .gifi ihTfifi PATENT CHARLES .EASSINIGER, GABRICK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB lTG OLIVER IRON & STEEL GORBQRATION, G33. .EI'lTlE BURGrH, EIENNSYLVANIA, A GURIORA'IION' OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MECHANISM FOR HANDLING BLANKS.

Original application filed- September 7; 1923, Serial rToJGS1/i25 Divided and this application filed-July "22,192 L Serial-Nox727g588.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Urrnnnns Fassmenn, a citizen'of the UmtedStates, and TGSlClGHlZ'O'f Garrick, in the county of Allegheny 'and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a -newand useful lmprovement in li lechanisms for Handling Blanks; and I doihereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to mechanism for handling metal'blanks'amh the like, and is especially suitable for presenting blanks in. succession to the dies of a metal-headmgor other forging machines,to.carry theblanks to a plurality of successive passes when the machine has more than one pass, and to thereafter discharge the finished article.

One object of my invention is to provlde niieclianism of the character indicated which shall be simple and rugged'in construction, and which shall operate automatically to bring blanks one by one into any desired position.

Another objectof my invention is to prvide mechanism of the character indicated.

whichniay be constructed as an independent.

unit, and may be readily applied to existing machines.

A still further object of my inventionis to provide improved gripper means for carrying blanks to a series of dies -insuccession.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a blanlefeeding and carrying mechanism with safety means for preventing is illustrated as applied to a bolt-heading" machine having a roughing pass and a finishing pass. It will be understood that my invention is not restricted to forging machines but may be applied equally well in other relations.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevatioual view of a bolt-heading machine equipped with my improved feeding and work-handling 1nechanis1ntllig32 is an en- 1 larged side elevational v ew of the feedtable, the carrier and .th gripper; Fig.

is a planiview of the structure shown in Fig. 12; Fig. t is aside elevational view similar to Fig. 2 with the parts in another operatingposition; 5 is a still further enlargement, partly in side elevation and partlyuin section of theidevice of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is afplan view of the gripper-opening can'r and a portion ofthe gripper mechanism, and Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of the gripper-opening i mechanism.

This'applicationis a division of my application, Serial 1501661325, filed September 7,3923, Patent No. 1,517,971 of Dec. 2, 192-1. f The; forging mechanism illustrated herein is similarto .that shown and described in my PatentiNo. 1,503,312, issued 3 July 29, 1924-.

min the drawings I have shown, for the purpose ,of illustrating myvinvention, the

essential parts of ailnachine which is similar in its construction to existing two-pass boltheading machines, and which comprises a frame 2 mounted on suitable standards 3 and provided with a fixed roughing die block 4, a fixed finishing die block 5, a .movable roughing diebloclrt, and a movable finishing diebloclt 7. The movable die blocks 6 and 7 are carr1ed=by a (he icarrier Son an arm 9. nvliich rocks upon a horizontal shaft '10. The arm 9 1s rockedupon the shaft 10 to reciprocate the die blocks 6 and 7 toward and away from the fixed blocks 4 and 5 by means of toggles 11 thatuare operated by inea-ns of a slide 12 which is reciprocated by a cam carried-by a power shaft, not shown. A spring :15 is connected to a lug 14: onthe arnr Qiand to a stationary portion of the machine frametends to pull the arm 9 to the left as shown'in Fig. 1.

Thepowershaft also carries a crank for reciprocating a heading block 15 which, is shown in Fig. 3 is disposed in line with the dies described above and carries corresponding upsetting dies. The power shaft of the machine also carries abevel gear Wheel 18, Fig. lifwhich is employed to actuate a portion of the slide mechanism t-obe described below.

- In order to feed the stock to the machine :and to: carry the stock through the forging passes; I provide an automatic feeding device, a 09.1031614118011211115111,.aIlC l a gripper mechanism which lQCElVQSBflGh blank from the carrier and presents the blanks in succession to the dies. The gripper mechanism is somewhat similar to that shown in my said Patent No. 1,503,312 and is operated by means of a horizontally movable slide 20 mounted in upper and lower guides 21 and 22 at the front of the machine, this slide being moved horizontally at intervals by means of a bell crank lever composed of arms 23 and 2%, this bell crank lever being operated by power derived from the main power shaft of the machine. The arm 24- of the bell crank lever engages a roller 25 carried by a vertical rod 26 which is secured to the slide 20. Two springs are received in stationary seats 27 in the machine frame and bear against the slide 20, tending to force it to the right, Fig. 1, while the bell crank lever 2324 acts to move the slide 20 to the left, Fig. 1.

The slide 20 carries a vertically movable slide 30 on which is mounted the gripper mechanism which will be described below. The vertical slide 30 is provided at its lower end with a cam roller 31 which rides upon the periphery of a cam 32 secured to a horizontal cam shaft 33 which is mounted in bearings 3a and 85, and which carries, in addition to the cam 32, a carrier-operating cam 86, a gripper-opening cam 37, and another cam 38 which operates a pusher rod for positioning the blanks on the feed table. The cam shaft 33 also carries a bevel gear wheel 39 meshing with a bevel pinion 40 on an inclined shaft 4-1 which carries at its upper end a bevel gear a2 meshing with the bevel gear 18 which, as stated above, is carried by the main power shaft of the machine. The several mechanisms actuated by the crank shaft 33 will be described in their turn, following the movement of a blank through the machine.

The blanks may be fed to the machine automatically or by hand. In either case, each blank is placed upon an inclined plate 4-7, rolls down this plate, and strikes a stationary stop plate 4L8 which is adjustably spaced above an inclined upper feed table section 4-9. The stop plate 48 serves to check the movement of the blank and causes the blank to fall upon the upper section 49 of a feed table 50, whereupon the blank passes beneath the stop plate 48 and rolls down the feed table section 49, from which it passes to the assists in bringing the blanks to the proper position at the lower end of the feed table. The stop plate 48 may be set perpendicular to the gaging strips or may, if desired, be so adjusted as to cause the blanks to roll somewhat away from the gaging strips. In order to adjust the angular position of the stop plate t8, the bracket 55, which supports this stop plate at the front of the machine, is provided with a slot 56 surrounding a bolt 57 which clamps the stop plate 48 to the feed table 4.9 in its adjusted position.

The feed table 50 is supported near its lower end upon a stationary bracket (it) and carries three gates, 61, 62 and (32) which are reciproeated above the feed table in proper timed relation to deliver the blanks from the lower end of the feed table one by one and at the proper time to be received by the blank carrier. The lower gate (31 insures that the blank will not roll from the feed table until the carrier is ready to receive it; the second gate 62 insures that only one blank at a time can be delivered from the feed table, and the upper gate 63 insures that all of the blanks will be stopped by the gate 62 before they are allowed to pass to the lower gate 61. These gates are so in terconnected that when the lower gate 61 is down, the second gate 62 is raised and the upper gate 63 is down. and that when the lower gate 61 is raised, the second gate 62 is down and the upper gate 63 is raised.

The gates are raised and lowered by means of the swinging blank carrier described below, this carrier being arranged to lift the lower gate 61 when it rises to take a blank from the feed table, and to then release the gate 61 when the carrier swings down and away from the feed table. The carrier is the sole means for operating the several gates. The lower gate 61 is secured to the ends of two swinging arms (34; which are arranged at opposite sides of the feed table and are loosely pivoted at their upper ends upon pins 65 carried by brackets (36. The gate 62 is similarly carried at the ends of pivoted arms 67, the opposite ends of which are loosely pivoted upon pins (58 carried by the brackets 66. The upper gate (523 is can ried by two swinging arms pivotally mounted between their ends upon pins it carried by brackets 72. The arms 7t) extend above and beyond the intermediate gate 62 and rest upon the enlargements (37 of the arms 67 to which the gate 62 is attached. Yokes 73, carried by the intermediate gate 62, surround the arms TO and insure that the movement of the intermediate gate 62 shall be communicated to the upper gate 65 so that when one of these gates rises. the other will descend, and vice versa.

Two springs and 76 are secured at each side of the feed table 50 by means of bolts 77. The springs 76 rest upon the ei'ilargeinopposite directional provide at eaohsitle' of the feed table a two-armed lever 78'which is pivoted midway between its ends on a bracket 7 9. Each of the levers 78 carries at one of its ends a pin 80 on which is mounted a roller 81 which engages beneath the adjacent'arm 64. Eachjot'v the levers 78 also carries at its opposite end a pin 82 extending in the opposite direction withres pect to the pin 80 andcarrying a roller 83 which engages beneaththe adjacent arm 67; Itwill thus be apparentl'when the lower gate (SI-is lifted, itssupporting arms 6% will be rocked on their pivots 6 [against the pressure of the spring 76; and that the spring 75" will thus be able" to depress the intermediate gate 62 toward the feed table thereby rocking the lever 78 upon their pivotsand also rais ing the upper gate 63. hen the lower gate is released, the i spring 76: will lower this gate toward the feedtablehnd this move inent will be communicated through the arms 6% and the levers 7 Sto raise the arms he eby ra ins t e int rm di t s 2 and lett ri g tl ii ipr r g e 6 As shown on gage on the feed table 50 "is -providediwithnotches S t and 85 to admit the gates 62 'and 63, and these gates are also providedwith corre sponding notchesto enable the'gates to descend to the surfaceol the feed table 50.

Each blank B rolls down the feed table a d t rear sate b devil, e blankwill be stopped at this gate as shown in If the rear gate 63 should be raised and theintermediate gate 62h; lowered, the blank will pass under the rear gate ('9 on without touching it and will be stopped by the gate 62. In either case the blank cannot reach the lower gate 61 without first being stopped by the gateGQ because as soon as the rear gate 63 raised any blank that may have been held by this gate @111 roll into contact withthe gate 62 which has been lowered at the same time that the upper gate 63 is raised. lVhile the blank is resting against the lower gate Glit'is moved lengthwise towarid thegage 5st of the feed table means of a pusher rod which is reeiprocated just above the feed table and near its lower end bymeans of the cam 38 carried by the cam shai" 'lfhis reciprocatin g movement ofth-e pusher "rod 90 is width of the feed table produced through a cam roller 91-carriedby the lower end of a bent arm 92 Which is pivotally mounted in a bearing 93'secured to the machine frame and .*hich-carries a curvedarm 94 that extends upwardly and laterally, and is provided at its upper end with a fork The two arms ofthe t'ork 95' are disposed in front ol rollers 90 which are carried by pins extending from a collar 97 secured to a horizontal rod 98 which is slidably mounted inbearings 99 and 99 secured beneath the feedtable 50. The portion 100 of the rod 98 which slides through the first-bearing 99'ispreferably made square, and the front bearing 99 is similarly shaped so as to prevent lateral. movement {of the pusher rod 90. The remainder 01 the rod 98 preferably round. in spring 101 surrounds the rod 98 between the rear bearing 99*and a nut 102 carried by the rod 98, and this spring tends to move the rod 98 inwardy whilethe :Eork 95 acts to move the rod 98 outwardly. The spring 101 may be re placed by a weight connectedto the inner end of the rod 98 by means of a suitable cord and pulley.

The collar 97 is secured on the rod98 by meansof a collar 103 and a nut 103. An arm-104E is secured to or made integral with the collar 97 and is provided with a split clamp 105 in which the pusher rod 90 is ad justably secured by means of a clamping bolt 106.-

It will be seen that when the fork 95 moves away from the feed table it will draw with it the pusher rod 90, and that when the fork moves toward the feed table the pusher rod will be drawn inwarlly by the spring 101 or by the equivalentweight, and willengage the end of the blank rest 'ing against-the lower gate, 61, forcing the opposite enclof the blank ag inst the gage 54' if it is not already the-re;- Since this gaging movement of the pusher rod is produced bya spring or by a weight,- no damage will result if the blank should be longer than the normal length, or if the'blanks should for any reason become twisted or piledso as to stop the pusher rod short of its normal stroke.

The adjustable mounting of the pusher rod 90 may be readily changed for operating upon blanks of dill'erentlengths, and the maximum length of stock that can be handled in this machine-is limited only by the The blank carrier or transfer mechanism which receives the blank from the feed table and delivers it to the gripper mechanism will now be described. This transfermechanism is mountedupon a standard cured to the top of the machine frame by 'nieans of bolts 111. The standard 110 carries an elongated horizontal head 112 WhlCll IS PIOV'IClGCl at/ ts ends withdownlzil) wardly inclined portions 113. Bearings are formed in the projecting end portions 113 to receive circular bushings 11 1 in which is mounted a square shaft 115. The shaft 115 is mounted for rocking movement and also for a limited amount of lengthwise reciprocating movement by which the blanks are finally gaged, the length of such reciprocating movement being suitably a quarter of an inch.

The rocking movement of the square shaft 115 is produced in one direction by means of gravity assisted by a spring 116 connected between a fixed stud 117 and a ring 118 carried by a split collar 119 which is clamped upon the square shaft 115. The spring 116 insures that the moving parts of the carrier will operate properly and without chattering. Rocking movement of the square shaft in the other direction is produced by means of a lever arm 120 carried by the split collar 119. A grooved roller 121 rides upon the lever arm 120 and is mounted loosely upon a pin which is carried by a fork 123 on the end of a lever 121 that is mounted on a stationary pivot pin 125 carried by a stationary bracket 126. The rear end of the lever 121 is provided with a roller 125 that rests upon an adjustable bearing screw 126 which is screwed into the upper end of a rod 12?. The rod 127 is mounted slidably in stationary bearings 128 and carries at its lower end a cam roller 129 which runs upon the periphery of the cam 36. Through the mechanism just described, the cam 36 depresses the lever 120 once during each revolution of the cam shaft 33 and rocks the square shaft 115 in a counter clockwise direction, Figs. 1, 2, 4t and 5, after which the lever 120 is released and the weight of the parts carried by the square shaft 115, assisted by the spring 116, rocks the square shaft back in a clock-wise direction.

This rocking movement of the square shaft 115 swings two sets of carrier jaws between an upper receiving position adjacentto the lower end of the feed table 50, as shown in Fig. 4:, and a lower discharging position shown in Figs. 2 and 5, where the blank taken by the carrier from the feed table is delivered to the gripper mechanism.

Each of the carriers carried by the shaft 115 is constructed as best shown in Fig. 5, and includes two relatively movable jaw members 130 and 131. The jaw member 130 is carried by an arm 132 that is formed integral with a split clamp 133 which surrounds the square shaft 115 and is secured thereto by means of a bolt 134. The jaw member 131 is pivotally mounted on a pin 135 carried by the arm 132 of the jaw mem her 130. The jaw member 131 also carries an arm 136 in which is adjustably screwed a rod 137 A spring 136 is connected between the upper end of the rod 137 and the outer end of another rod 139 which is fixed in an opening in the square shaft 115. The spring 138 thus tends to-rock the jaw member 131 to its closed position with relation to the jaw member 130.

The downward rocking movement of the carriers is limited by means of a stop screw 1 which extends through a member 1 11 that projects from the head 112 opposite to one of the sets of carrier jaws and bears against the clamping screw 13 1 of this set of jaws.

"When the square shaft 115 is rocked to raise the carrier aws toward the feed table, the end of the pivoted jaw member 131 engages the lower end of the feed table 50, as shown in Fig. 4, and prevents this jaw member from rising farther. The rocking movement of the shaft 115 continues to an elevation suited to the diameter of the blanks B. this elevation being changed when desired, by adjusting the screw 126 which operates the lever 124. The opening of the carrier jaws is accompanied by the lifting of the lower gate 61 which allows a blank 13 to roll into the carrier jaws as shown in Fig. 1. This lifting of the gate 61, accompanied by corresponding movements of the gates 62 and 63 is produced by means of lugs 1 13 which are carried on the upper sides of the carrier jaw members 130, and which engage beneath small angle pieces 1% that are secured to the outer surface of the lower gate 61 of the feed table. This method of raising the lower gate insures the proper timed relation between the raising of the gate and the opening of the carriers at the feed table. hen long blanks are being handled, both of the carriers carried by the square shaft 115 are employed to receive and convey the blank, but for shorter blanks only the carrier nearest the die is needed, and this is the condition illustrated in Fig. 3 where the blanks B are not long enough to engage both of the sets of carrier jaws.

The carrier jaws remain open in the position of Fig. 4 only long enough to receive the blank and are then rocked down to the position of Figs. 2 and 5. During this downward rocking movement, the end of the blank that is to be upset is wiped against a stationary curved gage 145 which insures that this end of the blank shall be in ex actly the correct position when it is placed in the upsetting die. The gage 1 is adjustably carried by the stationary head 112, and for this purpose is provided with a bent upper portion 146 that is formed integral with or attached to a slide 1 17 which has a tongue 1 18 received in a groove 1 19 which is formed in the upper surface of the head 112. The slide 1st? has an upstanding lug 150 in line with a similar lug 151 on a plate 152 which is also arranged to slide in the groove 1 19 and is clamped in position by means of ascrew belt 158. adjusting screw 154 extends through a threaded opening in the lug 150 and through-an"unthreaded openingin the-lug 151. The screw 154.- is

156that is carriediby. ipin l 57 whichh'angs from the under side bf the stationary head 112. The cam 155': is so shaped that when the 'shaft 115 roeksato raisenthezcarriers to the feed table, the shaft 115 is moved outwardly asseen in Figs; 1, 2, 1 and5, "and downwardly as-seen in Fig. 3. This movement ofthe shaft compresses a spring 158 which surrounds an extensiont 159+of the shaft 1 ;betweeii ithe'head 112 and awasher 160. The tension ofthe. spring 158 is regn- 'lated bymeans'of a nut' 161:secured o n the "oiiter end of the shaft extension 159. When the shaft 115 rockswto lower the. carriers away from the-feed 'tabley thezspri-ng 158 which carries the fixed jaw member 165 and also carries bearings for theends-o'f a'rod 169. The lower movable jaw member 166 is carried by a collar 170 that is keyed to the rod 169. This rodalso carries adjustably two arms1711 and 172. The arm .171 is employed for opening thejaws 165 and 166 to receive the blanks from the transfer mechanism, while the other arm 172 is employed to close the jaws after they have received the blank, and to thereafter open the jaws during the forging operations, and after the article hasgb-een finished.

For the purpose 'of causing the arm 17 2 to rock ther0d 169 and open the tongs torre- 'c'eive the blanks from the earri-ermeehanism, I' pr ovi'de' a cam 1 73wvhich, as shown in Fig. 7,? is carried by a member 17tthat is iadjustably mounted by means of a bolt 175 in? arslot 176 tormed iini a vertical plate 177"t'hat is pivoted at 178ito a .finedbracket 179 carried by the machine frame 2. Aleaf spring .180 bears against the outer surface of the pivoted plate 177:"as .bestshownjn Fig. 6. The arm 171 carriesa cam roller 181. When the slide carried by the horizontally movable slide risesand then moves t0 the left as seen in'Fig. 5, the team roller 'moves the shaft a115finwardly-as seen in Figs. 1, 2-and 4, land aipwardly as seenin Fig. 3JAs stated-above the lengthoof this movement of the shaft 115smaysuitably be one-quarterof an inch. V j

Ifnthe blank has'been properly positioned by the pusher rod-90 onithe feed table; its end engages theigafge 145 immediately when the blank is *seizedby the carriers, and when thecarriers descend the blank isuallowe'dto slide JlIi the barriers, thus; ,m'aintaining its bla'nkl is not exactlyin its proper position when it is seized: by the. carriers, the slight lengthwise movement otthe" carrier; shaft will bring its end into engagement with the" gage .145. .duringthe descent of. the carriers,

1 and this insures that the blankswill always be in proper position on entering the dies."

When the transfer earriers reach their. lower posrtion as shown-1n Figs. Qand 5, 'theigripper mechanism-removes the blank i from theitransfer carriers. This gripper mechanism is best 'shownainwEigs. 5, 6 H1ldl 7 and includes a fixed ajaw 1 65, and a IT1OV'. able: jaw-1'66, both of thesejaws being carri'edby abracket 167 which. is m'ounted forhorilaontal adjustment on the upperend of i the vertical slide 30 andi is providedwat. its

" upper end' with a -vertical-v extension.@168

with the rod 181 rides over the upper surface of the cam 17 3, thereby rocking the rod 167 and moving th'ejaw 166-awayfrom the-jaw 165. The position ofthe partsatvthis time isshown in' Fig. 5. During" the opening movement of'the jaw 166, the arm 172 is also rocked 1 67. This movement acts through a rod 182-to compress a springjSE-B which surrounds the rod182 between a fixed bracket 184 and a washer and nut secured to the'lower end of this rod. Then the roller 181 passes beyondt-he cam173, thespring' 188 acts throughtherod L182 andthearm 172 to snap the j'awbztek tothe closed po- 'sition.

I The construction iofthe cam 173 is such #that'if the machine shouldbe reversed. so :that the arm. 171 OP'illllG roller 181 strikes the lower surface of the cam 17 3, no damage W111 .bedone, but the cam will merely rock away from the bracket 179 :and when released willbe returned to its normal posit-ion by means of thespiring 180. Other safety connections may be provided wherever desired to'preventinjury to the 11121Cl1lIl6 -l11 case. blanks should become jammedior in casewother accidents should occur.

The arm 171 and' the cam roller 18lare utilized not only 101 opening the gripper jaws to receive a blank. from thecarriier in a the manner-described above, but also for the purpose of opening. the gripper jaws momentarily whilethe blank is n the finishing .passiof the machine, and thereafter ior opem ,ingzthe jaws to discharge. the finished bolt.

For the purpose of operating the jaws in this: manner, I provide roller 185.carried -'scends to bring the blank in the gripper to the finishing pass, that is, between the dies 5 and 7, the cam 37 gives the rod 187 a slight upward impulse which causes the cam roller 185 to engage the roller 181 carried by the arm 171 so as to momentarily open the gripper jaws to a slight extent and permit the blank to be moved lengthwise in the dies in the manner described in my Patent No. 1,503,312 mentioned above. The rod 187 then descends to the proper point to again engage the cam roller 181 when the slide 30 descends to bring the gripper jaws to the bolt-discharging position, at which timethe roller 185 again operates through the roller 181 and the arm 171 to open the gripper jaws and discharge the bolt.

In the operation of the machine described above, the blanks B are placed one by one on the inclined plate 47 and each blank as it rolls from the plate 47 strikes the stop plate 48 and is alined in the desired position with relation to the gage 54. The blank then passes under the stop plate 48 and rolls down the feed table 50. The blank is stopped 5 either by the upper gate 63 or by the intermediate gate 62, and if the blanks are fed faster than the dies can operate upon them, the blanks will accumulate in a row above the gate 62. At each reciprocation of the gates 61 and 62 a single blank is allowed to escape below the gate 61, and the gate 62 at the same time descends so as to retain any other blanks that may be upon the feed table. This movement of the gates is produced by the lug 143 which is swung up with the jaws of the carrier and engages beneath the angle pieces 144. During this same upward movement of the carrier aws, the lower jaw 131 strikes beneath the lower edge of the feed table 50 and the carrier jaws are thus opened to receive the blank B which escapes beneath the gate 61. The carrier immediately descends, the carrier jaws being closed by the spring 138 as soon as the lower jaw 131 is free from the lower end of the feed table 50.

The slide 30 carrying the gripper jaws is lifted by the cam 32 to bring the cam rollers 181 to the level of the stationary cam 173. Immediately thereafter the slide 20 moves to the left, Figs. 1 and 5, thereby carrying the cam roller 181 over the cam 173 and opening the gripper jaws. The movements of the parts are so timed that when the gripper jaws and the carrier are at the postion shown in Fig. 5, a slight further movement of the slide 20 to the left causes the gripper jaws to close around the blank, and-the slide 30 immediately begins to descend and carries the blank in the pat-h indicated in dotted lines on Fig. 5, the movcments of the slides 20 and 30 being timed to produce this movement of the blank in the proper relation to the movement of the dies. "When the blank is in the flushing pass the gripper jaws are released momentarily in the manner described above so as to enable the blank to be moved lengthwise in the die. When the dies are again opened, the vertical slide 30 again descends and moves to the left, thereby bringing the blank to the discharging position, where the grippers are again opened and the blank is discharged into a suitable receiver.

It is a special advantage of the machine described above that the blanks are accurately and positively gaged before they are brought to the forging passes. There are four points at which the movement and position of each blank are controlled, namely,

at the stop plate 48, at the upper gate 63 or the intermediate gate 62, at the lower gate 61 where the blank is pushed against the gage 54 by the rod 90, and at the gage 145 against which the end of the blank is wiped during the descent of the carrier jaws. The position of the final gage 145 determines the amount of stock that will be upset to form the head of the finished article, and the adjustment of this gage upon the carrier head 112 provides a convenient means for changing at will the size of the upset head.

If the forging machine is provided with three or more passes or sets of dies, the gripper mechanism may be readily arranged to bring the blanks to each of the dies successively, the only modification required being the proper designing of the cams which operates the slides and the carrier. The apparatus may also be adapted for use with a machine having only a single pass, by similar modification of the operating cams. It will be understood that my invention includes all such modifications in the construction and arrangement of parts as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. Feeding mechanism comprising a carrier mounted for swinging movement between a blank-receiving position and a blank-discharging position, relatively movable jaws carried by said carrier, an elongated gage member mounted adjacent to and concentrically of said carrier and extending along the path thereof, from receiving to discharging position, and means for moving said jaws laterally toward said gage member while said jaws are moving from said blank-receiving position to said blankdischarging position.

2. Feeding mechanism comprising a stationary head having downwardly inclined bearing projections, ashaft mounted for swinging movement in bearings in said projeotions, an arm carried by said shaft, a cam roller resting upon said arm, a support for said cam roller permitting said roller to move laterally, a lever carrying said support, cam-operated means for rocking said lever and for thereby rocking said shaft to swing said jaws upwardly, a spring for rocking said shaft downwardly, and means for moving said shaft lengthwise during its rocking movements.

3. Feeding mechanism comprising an inclined feed table, a gate vertically movable above said feed table near its lower end, a lifting member carried by said gate and a carrier adapted to lift said gate, to receive a blank from said feed table, and to carry said blank to a blank-discharging position, said carrier comprising a shaft, relatively movable jaw members carried by said shaft, means for rocking said shaft to swing said jaw members upwardly, one of said jaw members being adapted to engage beneath the lower end of said feed table and to thereby open the said jaws, and the other jaw being provided with means for engaging said lifting member and for thereby lifting said gate, and means for rocking said shaft in the opposite direction to close said jaws, to permit said gate to descend, and to swing said jaws downwardly to a blankdischarging position.

4. Feeding mechanism for blanks, comprising a feed table for supporting the blanks, a rock shaft, a jaw member carried by said shaft, a second jaw member also carried by said shaft, means for oscillating said shaft to and from blank receiving position, and means for causing the rearmost jaw to engage the forward edge of said table when approaching blank receiving position, to prevent further movement thereof and thereby efiecting relative movement of the jaws to permit reception of a blank therebetween.

In testimony whereof I, the Said CHARLES FAssINGEn, have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES FASSINGER. 

